Samuel's Story

Samuel is a 40 year old man who lives in Santa Cruz with his wife and 2 children. One Saturday afternoon, Samuel went to the store to buy a loaf of bread. He was at the cash register ready to check out when 3 armed men with revolvers entered the store. They hit Samuel in the face with a gun, breaking his nose.

The owner of the store took Samuel to a nearby clinic, but they could not stop the bleeding. From there, he was sent to a large hospital where they put gauze in his nose and sent him home without pain medicine, telling him to come back on Monday. Samuel returned to the hospital on Monday, only to be told that it was "doctor's day" and a holiday, so they sent him home again. He returned to the hospital on Tuesday, but again was sent home and told to return on Wednesday because there was no space. Finally, on Wednesday he was admitted for surgery. The surgery was done without anesthesia and was not done well. For the next 6 months, Samuel was unable to sleep lying down and unable to breathe from his nose.

Samuel says his surgery experience with the U.S. team (March 2010) was "totally different" because he never felt any pain! After a successful surgery, he is now able to breathe normally through his nose and sleep without any problem. He is very thankful for the team and the care he received!